Visa Policy Changes and Post-Graduation Job Relatedness Among Foreign Doctorate Recipients: Evidence From the American Competitiveness Acts

Dafeng Xu , University of Minnesota

I use the Survey of Earned Doctorates to study effects of two ``American Competitiveness Acts'' on foreign doctoral recipients' job relatedness. The Acts resulted in the increase in the working-visa cap, and the creation of an uncapped visa category for non-profit organizations (e.g., universities). Results suggest visa policy changes under American Competitiveness Acts increased foreign doctoral recipients' job relatedness, which was further associated with the rise in university employment among foreign doctorates. The main findings are robust to changes to specification or sample, and other possible mechanisms (e.g., selection on the field of study) are unlikely to explain the findings.

See paper

 Presented in Session 7. Migration & Urbanization